ROADS BOARD BUDGET

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29389, 16 December 1960, Page 27

ROADS BOARD BUDGET

£12.5m For State

Highways

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, Dec. 15.

The National Roads Board’s gross allocation to State highways for 1961-62 will be £12,469,695 to counties £8,923,000 and to boroughs and cities £3,229,400. These figures were given in the allocations of estimated revenue for 1961-62 approved by the board today. The total figure is only £11,500 above that allocated for the current year. The Director of Reading (Mr P. L. Laing) told the board that in 1960-61, 53 per cent, of the total revenue was given to State highways, compared with 52j per cent, for next year. He said that the roads fund balance planned for the end of this financial year would be £700,000 compared with an actual £1,480,000 at the end of 1959-60. Mr Laing said the latest estimate of revenue for the current financial year was £2l million. This was expected to increase by 4 per cent, next year, bringing the estimated revenue for 1961-62, to £22 million.

New Zealand counties would get almost £7 million of the total revenue, compared with just over £6.5 million this year. Auckland province will get £2 million, Wellington about £825,000, and Canterbury almost £600,000. Cities and boroughs have been allocated £3.228.400, an increase of about £136,000.

The Christchurch metropolitan area should receive £218,000, plus £69,000 for Canterbury area counties.

Auckland metropolitan authorities will receive just over £1 million, with a further £444,000 going to the provincial authorities. Wellington should get £471.000. The Roads Board will advise individual local authorities of their own allocations and will ask district roads councils to submit programmes of work for boroughs and counties within the approved district allocations.

The proposed district indicated the increasing demand for State Highways, Mr Laing said.

“It is obvious they cannot be met within the available funds. “In this respect, major projects such as the Auckland urban motorways and. to some extent, the Wellington motorways, are not being built at the pace necessary to keep up with the demands of traffic nor at an economic rate ip relation to the large annua! capitil investment,” he added. District allocations, with last year’s figures in parenthesis, areDistrict 11 (Nelson-Marl-borough) State highways £427.000 (£423.000); municipal, £67.500 (£64,200): and county, £203.700 (£187,600). District 12 (West Coast)—State highways, £743,000 (£797,000): municipal, £64,100 ' £55,000); and county, £195,200 (£195,300). District 13 (North Canterbury) —State highway, £310,006 (£298,000); and county, £104,300 (£102,000). District 14 (Christchurch) State highway, £385.000 (£347,000); municipal, £218,000 £276,400); and county, £313,200 (£290,500). . District 15 (South Canterbury) —State highway, £228,000 (£219,000); municipal, £70,300 (£67,700); and county, £259,000 (£254,300). District 16 (Central Otago)— State highway, £610,000 (£626,000); municipal, £109,300 (£89,100); and county, £220,000 (£208,200). District 17 (Otago)—State highway, £348.000 (£297,000); municipal, £220,900 (£227,100); and county, £238.300 (£212,500). District 18 (Southland)—State highway, £391,000 (£393,000); municipal, £106,000 (£103,300); and county, £332,200 (£343,800).